Grand Tour #11

We are finally home from a long day of touring Bath. Our feet are tired and we are anxiously awaiting the results of the Britain’s Got Talent finals. Today was Jane Austen madness! I mean MADNESS! We slipped into Bath Abby for a few minutes before our Jane Austen walking tour began. The Abby was about to close for a wedding – we were lucky to sneak in just before. The Abby is so beautiful – even though I have been there before, I never get tired of touring it. We went on the walking tour – heard lots of stories, saw lots of buildings, saw lots of streets and learned lots about Jane Austen. I won’t give details – you would be asleep in ten minutes! We ended the tour at the Jane Austen Center and spent two hours there! First there was lunch. Daughter 1 ordered, of course, Tea with Mr. Darcy and the Jane Austen Blend tea. After lunch we went to listened to an introductory lecture about Jane Austen and then went on a self-guided tour around the center. Shopping was last on the list- we found Daughter 1 another old edition of Pride and Prejudice. We then proceeded on our own walking tour to finish up the rest of the Jane Austen sites – the Royal Crescent, the Circus, many streets where Jane would have been and some of the streets where they filmed both versions of Persuasion. The Fashion Museum was next on our list – we had a great time trying on corsets! We ended the day at Sally Lunn’s, the oldest house in Bath and a bakery for several hundreds years. Now to our hotel – it is wonderful. It is one of six gate houses for the nearby Farleigh Castle. So this mini-castle has been here for a long time. I really wanted to stay here when we lived in England, but the daughters were too young. One more thought for the night - I can’t help but take a stroll down memory lane, thinking of all the people we came to Bath with while we lived here. I have such good memories. But the past two days, I have thought so much about my visit here with my parents and grandfather. My grandfather was 86 and wanted to visit me in England, so my parents brought him over. Bath was one of the destinations we visited during his tour of the United Kingdom. Grandpa returned home and died within a week. He had two passport stamps in his passport – the USA and the United Kingdom. A dream he had his whole life. So here I am with my daughter living out her dream. Enough for tonight – goodnight to all. Mom and Dad – I love you!

Grand Tour #10

What a delightful day! And we actually slept in! Up at 8:00 and breakfast at 9:00 – boy were we happy! Today was all about Jane Austen in Bath, her home numerous times during her lifetime. We started the day at the Roman Baths. We fully enjoyed our self-guided audio tour and learning about the partially naked, muscular Roman soldiers. We decided we would love to be the slaves scraping the dirt off them after they came out of the steam rooms dripping in sweat. Just kidding! Just checking to see if you are still reading. After the baths, we roamed around town, looked in a couple of antique stores and strolled along the same streets Jane Austen walked down during her time in Bath. We stopped at the Victoria Art Gallery (because it was free) and viewed an exhibit of different architects’ visions of modernizing and updating Bath - from the late 1800’s up until the 1940’s. Bath would be a very different place if some of these changes would have been implemented. Upstairs there was an impressive gallery – we especially liked two Gainsborough portraits and two Duffield still lifes. After more shopping we headed to the Pump Rooms for afternoon tea. With beautiful surroundings, a string trio and delicious food, we had a wonderful time. The Pumps Rooms have been the center of social life in Bath for hundreds of years. Jane Austen visited and even wrote about The Pump Rooms in her novels Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. Then we were off to the new Thermal Spa for a late afternoon treatment. We arrived at 4:00 and our time ended at 7:45. In that time period we: swam in two different pools, visited three giant steam rooms each with a different aromatherapy scent, had a light snack, soaked our feet in our own mini-foot spa, took cold showers, had a hot shower that was like a waterfall and each had a spa treatment. Daughter 1 had a neck, back and shoulder massage with a rejuvenating facial, and I had a neck, back and shoulder massage with a foot massage. The weirdest part – they made us wear paper thongs for our massages. Because they were cut so strangely, I was not sure which was the front and which was the back!! We stumbled out of the spa and found the town empty – which was wonderful. Unfortunately if you ask Daughter 1 how she would describe Bath, she would tell you “dirty and crowded.” At this point it was still dirty, but it wasn’t crowded! We hung out, called home, and headed to a concert. Right now is the middle of the Bath International Music Festival, so we jumped on the chance to see a harpsichord concert. The musician was very talented and we were in a small intimate venue. I am happy to report that I only fell asleep once! Tomorrow is another day filled with the life of Jane.

Grand Tour #9

We waved goodbye to our cute cottage and headed south to start the day’s journey. Our first stop? A classic Daughter 1 move – I know the town but have no address. But we were cheering and yelling when we found it with no problem. Well, there was the nice man on the bike that stopped to help us with directions when we were stopped in the middle of a tiny country road! Edgecote was so little we passed it on the road. Edgecote House is a private home, but we had no problem taking pictures through the gate. It was Mr. Bingley’s home, Netherfield, in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice. Once we had our pictures we headed to Blenheim Palace! Wow, is this place massive and advertised as the grandest palace in England! When we entered the palace for a look around, we were told that the Duke was not in today and had given permission to tour his private wing of the house – something he does not do often. We really enjoyed the private tour. The family rooms are still very grand, but have more family photos and personal artwork on the walls. We saw the family entryway, offices, the kitchen, laundry room, other areas used by the 14 staff members and then the families’ living area. However, we were not taken to the bedrooms. I think this area was much different than what we thought it was going to be! We had a nice lunch in the Water Terrace Gardens then headed back in to see the house. It was very nice, but the inside was not as opulent as the façade on the outside. We loved the Winston Churchill exhibit - this is the house where he was born! We took a 1 mile walk around the grounds before heading out. We still had several things left to explore at the palace – but the next stop was demanding our time. Today we reached an all time low – a second classic Daughter 1 move – another town, another church and house but no address. After the biggest fiasco – even I was getting grumpy – we found the church and house. Luckington Court was the Bennet family home in Pride and Prejudice 1995. They also filmed at the church next door. We had no problem getting into the church yard. However, Luckington Court is a private residence and there were signs posted that it was private and no one was allowed in the areas around the house. Unfortunately for us, there were people out and we couldn’t sneak closer. Daughter 1 was soooo disappointed. “We didn’t come all this way to not get a picture,” was her direct quote. So back to the churchyard we went, up on to a 300 year old stone wall she went and a picture she took!! She is a woman possessed! Castle Combe, the best example of a Cotswold village, was our last stop of the day. We took pictures and then headed to The Castle Inn for dinner. It was beautiful when we went in for dinner and pouring rain when we came out! No worries, we made it just fine to our next lodging – The Bath Lodge Hotel. I will give you more details about our hotel another day! We are in a wonderful room, with a huge bathtub and we have internet!! For 3 nights our life will be easy – then we are back out into the country!

Woman on The Move driving Daughter 1 all over England!

Windy in the Peak District

I was not kidding - it was a very windy day in the Peak District! I was toooo scared to go out any further on the rocks!

Grand Tour #8

I would love to tell you that we took Stratford-upon-Avon by storm. But unfortunately I have to report that Stratford took us by storm – literally. We started the day with rain showers and by 4:30 we were soaked to the bone – even with an umbrella and rain coats. Lucky for us, we had a bit of time that was rain-free and were able to snap a few pictures. We had a great time exploring the town and seeing the many Shakespeare sites. I have traveled to Stratford before with Sir and the daughters, but have never taken the time to explore like we did today. We started the day at The Shakespeare Center and Birthplace. There was a great exhibit, beautiful gardens and various actors walking the grounds entertaining visitors as characters from some of Shakespeare’s plays. The house was interesting too - we enjoyed the comparison of the middle class to the upper class, a theme we have been seeing. We continued through town to Nash House & New Place. New Place was one of the biggest houses in Stratford when Shakespeare bought it. Unfortunately, it was torn down in protest when the owner didn’t want to pay taxes on the house. Part of the foundation still exists today, right next to Nash House – the house owned and lived in by Shakespeare’s granddaughter Elizabeth. The gardens were really pretty and quite large for being in the middle of town. Our next stop was Hall’s Croft – the home of Shakespeare’s daughter Elizabeth and her husband Dr. John Hall. This was a great house for the time period. At the house we even enjoyed a short interlude while watching a short scene from Macbeth. We marched on to Holy Trinity Church to see where Shakespeare is buried (along with all the other crazy tourists). Such tourists have been coming here for hundreds of years. Due to Shakespeare’s enormous influence on literature, crowds have flocked to Stratford to see the sites of Shakespeare’s life. Thanks to his devoted fans in the late 1800’s, Shakespeare’s properties were acquired and rebuilt so that future generations could enjoy the history of a great writer. Then we made our way back to the car and found Anne Hathaway’s cottage, the place where Shakespeare’s wife grew up. We learned that Shakespeare was only 18 (legally underage at the time) when he married Anne who was 26 – and she was three months pregnant with their first child. What a scandal! It is interesting that 15 generations of Hathaways lived in the Cottage - this was very uncommon for the middle class. During Anne’s life time, the Hathaways were well to do – later generations lost their wealth. We did love the gardens but once again we were the last ones out of the attraction. We went back into Stratford to enjoy the cinema. I know, you would think that we would see a play; but it is mid-term break and school groups are here from all over Europe. So unless we wanted to straddle a pole, they were sold out. While seeing the new Indiana Jones film we dried out, had popcorn for dinner, bit a couple of nails off, but enjoyed the movie immensely. Just an FYI: We have renamed our adventure. We are no longer on the England Adventure, but rather we are on our Grand Tour. You see, starting in the 1700’s young ladies would be accompanied by their mothers or other female chaperones on a grand tour of Europe, usually France or Italy. We have been told that Daughter 1 is of the age when this would have happened! There is a big difference - the girls would tour and then get ready for marriage. Daughter 1 will tour and then get ready for university! Tomorrow we are off again. Our hope is that we find wireless internet connection and pray that our phone has service!

England Adventure #7

We left early this morning to head south towards Shakespeare Country. I will spare you the details of driving in the rain on the motorway at 80mph one minute and then stopped bumper to bumper the next! I will only say that we were happy to arrive at Stoneleigh Abby alive, safe and without the rain! We arrived in time for a tour of the house, thanks to Daughter 1’s research. Stoneleigh was the home of Jane Austen’s uncle on her mother’s side. When Jane and her mother were visiting her uncle at his parish (he was a parson), the owner of Stoneleigh died with no heirs. With three possible heirs in a different branch of the family, Jane’s uncle (being a potential heir) rushed to Stoneleigh to take possession, bringing Jane and her mother with him. We toured rooms where Jane Austen slept, hung out and ate breakfast everyday. It is said that she drew inspiration from her experience at Stoneleigh to include in her books, most prominently Mansfield Park. This house just reopened to the public in 2003 after a 5 year restoration. It is a great example of how a house suffers when the families’ wealth decreases due to inheritance taxes and no trusts are established to preserve the house. When the last Lord Leigh died he had not done any financial planning so his exquisite possessions were sold from the house to pay for inheritance taxes. So now the house is practically bare. The English Heritage Society is now a partial owner, trying to buy back original furniture from Stoneleigh when it goes on auction at Christie’s. There was a fire at Stoneleigh around 1980 and in order to raise enough money to restore the house they had to convert some of the rooms into flats and a portion of the old Abby into houses. What a crying shame! We left and headed to Kenilworth – where we were told we could get internet service and a laundromat! They were right! We threw the afternoon plans out the window just so we could get some clean clothes! So later we drove by Kenilworth Castle for a picture, found our way to Warwick, didn’t go to the castle but went to Lord Leycester Hospital, where they filmed exterior shots for the 1995 Pride and Prejudice. With three maps in hand, we laughed the whole way through the countryside as we got lost, made wrong turns, drove through a flood (with the help of a fine gentleman driving by) and finally made our way to the next B&B, Tudor Rose Cottage. We are staying in an old Tudor cottage in a little village ten minutes from Stratford-Upon-Avon. We walked through the village to the local pub for dinner. The village is a mixture of old Tudor houses, old stone houses and a few rebuilt houses trying to look old. Tomorrow will be our first complete non-Jane Austen day. Don’t tell Daughter 1, but I am ready for a break!

Picture from Adventure #6

Shelly and Daughter 1 in front of Kedleston Hall.

Daughter 1 at The Roaches, filming site of Pride and Prejudice 1995.

England Adventure #6

I have had my shower and I am all snuggled in to bed, sipping my tea and writing to all of you. Daughter 1 is packing, watching Britain's Got Talent and looking over the goods she has purchased. We are both a little melancholy this evening as this is our last evening in the Peak District. We have enjoyed a four day tour of this area. The weather was good on Satuday, but like Sunday, today has been WINDY. Everyone tells us the wind is so unusual! Our day started early at The Roaches, where a scene from Pride and Prejudice 1995 was filmed. We struggled to climb up to the top of the rocks because of the wind. The scenery was beautiful - a rock formationhigh on a hill looking out on a vast valley. We took some pictures and got ourselves out of there before we were blown away! We headed to Stoke-On-Trent, the pottery area of England, for shopping! When living in England I journeyed to Stoke over 20 times - I felt like I was going home! However, so many thing had changed: stores have closed and shops have been remodeled. Because today was the bank holiday, the one store I wanted to go to was closed! After going in only two stores (I was very disheartened, but I am sure Sir will be thrilled when reading this), we left for our next destination. Our next stop was Sudbury Hall, which was crawling with people because of the bank holiday - we waited in line to grab lunch, we waited in line for the toilets, and we waited in line to get into the house. We loved Sudbury Hall. It was used to film several movies, including: the inside of Pemberley, Mr. Darcy's home, in Pride and Prejudice 1995; and the red room in Jane Eyre 2007. Why did we love Sudbury? In addition to the formal state rooms, we were able to tour the family rooms and bedrooms. Let me explain. In all the houses, halls, etc we have been in, you are able to tour the state rooms - the rooms built to impress and house special guests. Families that owned the homes didn't actually live in the state rooms; they had their own seperate living areas. If the family still lives in the house today (14 or 15 generations later), the family rooms are not open to the public, as many family members still occupy the family areas. We didn't spend much time in the gardens because it was so windy outside. So we headed west towards Kedleston hall, another spot in the filming of The Duchess. And oh my gosh, what a trip to get there! A tree was down across the road but thanks to two old ladies, we found the way. Upon arriving we had only 1.5 hours to tour the gardens, park and house, and unfortunately we had enough time - the gardens, most of the park and part of the house were closed due to the strong winds. This house was amazingly different from the others we had seen. This was the first house in England to be built in the neoclassical style. The house was gorgeous, opulent and over the top, but architecturally brillant. We asked for directions on how to get back to the highway because of the closed road, so we took the directions with a leap of faith and headed out. This is a direct quote "right out of the park, then the next right, a left to Duffield, then at the T go right." Considering these were all country roads - we made it and were shocked that we only had to turn around once! We found ourselves at a restaurant right across the street from the B&B. We shared a great shrimp ceasar salad flatbread pizza before heading back to pack. Goodnight! I will post again from Stratford-Upon-Avon. Hopefully we will find internet service at our next B&B so I can post daily!

Pictures from Adventure #5

Picture 1: Shelly and Daughter 1 at Lyme Park, the outside of

Mr. Darcy's home in Pride & Prejudice 1995.

Picture 2: Shelly and Daughter 1 at Haddon Hall. Filming location for Pride and Prejudice 2005, Jane Eyre 2007 and The Other Boleyn Girl.

England Adventure #5

Well, I definitely feel like I am in England. It is grey, overcast, rainy and windy. Our day started heading 25 miles northwest to Lyme Park, the exterior of Mr. Darcy's home in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice. We arrived on the grounds early and had to wait to get into the gardens and house. The grounds were less extensive than at the other houses we have visited. We hiked through the deer park, seeing various king of deer grazing in the unspoiled meadows. Daughter 1 didn#t have any interest in seeing the inside of Lyme Park, but once we arrived we decided to take a tour of the house. We loved the house even though no filming took place inside. While it was smaller than some of the other houses we have toured so far, it had a wonderful atmosphere, very comfortable and warm. We headed back through the countryside towards Haddon Hall. The countryside was green and lush, full of sheep and cattle. Nestled in a valley, the hills were rolling with stone walls. Haddon Hall is the home to films including, Pride and Prejudice 2005, Jane Eyre 2007 and The Other Boleyn Girl. Haddon Hall is the oldest house we have seen so far - it looked more like a castle and was a bit run down. Pride and Prejudice used two rooms for filming - the banqueting hall and the dining parlor. The hall acts as the dining room at the inn in Lambton - where Elizabeth hides from Mr. Darcy behind a curtain. The parlor is Elizabeth's bedroom at the inn - where Mr. Darcy paces when Elizabeth finds out her sister has run off. I can understand why they used so little of the house; it is not as grand as other houses. Next we headed south to the Carriage Museum in Darley Dale, which owns all of the carriages used in both Pride and Prejudice films as well as Jane Eyre 2007. We had to sweet talk them into opening the doors for us - they had closed early because they had not had any visitors all afternoon! After a long conversation about how boring it was to wait around movie sets all day and drive horses over and over again re-filming scenes, we headed out in the rain with laundry on our minds. We made our way to Matlock only to find that the laundromat closes at 2 on Sundays. We headed the 10 miles back to Bakewell for dinner at The Castle Inn. Food so far? We have had great chicken dishes, beef pies, fish and chips, soups, one bad sandwhich, and we have forced ourselves to try many different sweets! So now, we are quite at our leisure and not sure what to do. But the greater concern is where and when will we have time to do laundry!

Note: picture postings still postponed!

Pictures from Adventure #4

Shelly and Daughter 1 - at the long pond in front of Chatsworth. Our first stop of the morning.

The inspiration for the entire trip! Daughter 1 with the bust of Mr. Darcy in Chatsworth.

Daughter 1 on the top of Stanage Edge - it was so cold and windy!

England Adventure #4

I must tell you - today I was reminded why I am here - Mr. Darcy. Today we spent 7 hours at Chatsworth House, Mr. Darcy's home Pemberley in the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie. Daughter 1 was ready to have an anxiety attack - she was so excited for the day and wanted to get everything done. Well, it boiled down to - we had to take a picture in front of the house before all the people arrived. We were the first in line to get into the gardens and practically ran the whole way! But we made it! We took the picture and then we had the most delightful day. We toured the stables, the gardens and the house. The stables have been converted into a shopping and eating area. We toured azalea dells, rhododendrons, manicured lawns, wild flower fields, formal gardens, and ponds. Our feet felt every step of the 5 miles of trails. We were lucky to be apart of a three weekend fountains event - they turn 0n the fountains at full capacity to keep them working - they are very old, built in the late 17th century. The Emperor Fountain normally shoots up 50 feet high, but this morning it was 200 feet. The famous pavilion at the top of the Cascade Fountain normally sprays water only through a few statues - today water poured out from all of the statues and even the pavilion roof. It was beautiful - the water cascaded down 100 different sized steps. The house was wonderful - we scouted out sites from Pride and Prejudice, talked with guides and won special favors. They told us the locations at Chatsworth where they filmed the movie The Duchess - soon to be released this September. The highlight of the house tour was the sculpture bust of Matthew Macfadyen as seen in Pride and Prejudice. We had to tear ourselves away from Chatsworth - but the house did close at 5. So off we went to Stanage Edge and Snake Pass. Stanage Edge is the site where they filmed the scene with the sweeping cliffs in Pride and Prejudice 2005. Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) stands on the edge of the rocks overlooking the beautiful valley. We climbed to the top, took pictures and almost got blown away. Then we hiked down, turned on the seat warmers and headed up the road to Snake Pass. The 2007 mini-series Jane Eyre was filmed in a few different areas of Snake Pass. We ate dinner at The Snake Pass Inn and then headed home. Needless to say, we were dragging when we arrived at the B&B at 9! It was a nice day - and I only put 60 miles on the car!

Note: Due to the lack of wireless internet in this part of the country, pictures are not available right now. We will post a few later with corresponding labels.

England Adventure #3

I am cold and tired, and I believe Daughter 1 is trying to kill me. I once again risked my life (and hers) to drive to a tiny village pub in the middle of the nowhere with no address. Much to our dismay the pub isn’t open anymore – it is only a shop front. Thank you to Sir, we had a video ipod to watch Pride and Prejudice 1995 and find the exact location of the Inn at Lambton. After a few well staged pictures we headed back to Bakewell for dinner. I have to admit, the drive was picturesque with tiny villages lining the narrow roads. It was the mountain roads with hairpin curves and no railings that had me at my wits end! However, let me tell you about the beginning of our day. After a hardy breakfast we headed out to take pictures around Park Farm, our B&B. We chased sheep and the dogs chased us, so all in all it was a fun morning. Waving goodbye, we headed north to Belton House. Yesterday at Burghley House we toured the home of Lady Catherine in the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie. Today, Belton House was her home in Pride and Prejudice 1995. The house was beautiful and much more livable than Burghley House. The rooms they used to film were nice but as we watched the ipod (while standing in the house) we realized they didn’t show many views of the inside of the house. Now, the outside of the house was amazing - formal gardens, orangery, church, lake and other parts we didn’t have time to explore even after four hours. We were sad to leave but needed to get on the road to reach our new B&B in Bakewell, Croft Cottages. Today starts the bank holiday and every Tom, Dick and Harry was out on the roads. A few things we have observed so far: First, people talk about the funniest things in pubs. We met a woman who got drunk in her tub and broke a rib! Last night we heard how the cost of petrol was so cheap in America, and just before dinner we paid $100 to fill up the car! Second, the people drive so fast! I mean fast and it doesn’t matter what kind of road they are on: small, narrow, large, multi-laned, they drive faster than the dickens. I have hugged so many curbs and made Daughter 1 scream more time than I can count. It is at the end of day 3 and we are tired, but I am looking forward to another day of adventure.

Note: Due to the lack of internet at our B&B, postings will be spread out the next few days. Continue checking!

England Adventure #2

We awoke to sheep baa-ing outside our window, making their way up the hill munching as they went. Before heading out for the day we were happy to eat fried eggs, Lincolnshire sausages, baked beans, mushrooms, toast and tea! What a way to start a beautiful day in the English countryside. The tea, the breakfast, the warm and lovely people all pull me back to the days when I was here with Sir, Daughter 1 and Daughter 2. Our host at the farm house was puzzled when we said we were traveling to Teigh Oakham and Brooke. Why in the world would we travel to such small villages? Jane Austen came spilling out of my mouth. Elaine just smiled and stated, “Now I understand!” Teigh Oakham was so little, if you blinked you would miss it. But it was lovely - home to the church and rectory in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice. Off we flew to Brooke via the Rutland Water. Rutland Water is the largest man-made reservoir in Europe. Once in Brooke we easily found the church, spotted a neighbor to chat with, and proceeded in. The inside of the church was used for Pride and Prejudice 2005. The church is a hidden gem. Built in the 1600s, it has survived the years when people stripped the “good stuff” out of the surrounding churches. Back to Stamford we drove with Burghley House on our minds - with our handy map we even took an alternative route just to avoid a huge accident that had lorries and cars alike backed up for miles. Burghley House is a luscious and opulent house, and has been in the same family for over 400 years! Three movies have been filmed at Burghley House: The Da Vinci Code, Pride and Prejudice 2005 and Elizabeth I: The Golden Age. We had a great walk around the park and gardens, dodging deer droppings as we went, but we really enjoyed the inside. We were able to visit 18 restored rooms that were the state rooms for important guests. The guides were great - they answered questions about the filming and were awestruck by Daughter 1’s knowledge and enthusiasm for Jane Austen. Next we walked around Stamford which was used as the town Meryton in Pride and Prejudice 2005. Daughter 1 really won over a woman in an antique book shop when we popped in on a hunt for old copies of Pride and Prejudice. She offered us a 1st edition for $72,000 – we were sad to inform her that was a bit out of our price range. Once she was wrapped around Daughter 1’s finger, the woman started pulling out copies and opening locked doors, showing us books she knew we couldn’t afford but were of great interest to Daughter 1. Daughter 1 walked out with two Pride and Prejudice books, a smile on her face and an established relationship with a woman who will email her when books arrive that she can afford! Worn out from the day we headed home and the quote of the day is, “I can’t believe this is only the second day!”

England Adventure #1

We survived our first full day in England. I will tell you, it is nothing like I experienced in my fours years of living in London! We started the day in nippy weather and woke up an hour earlier than planned thanks to our ill-timed wake up call. So, we put on our jackets and headed to Reading. Unfortunately, 1 hour and 30 minutes later, we stopped to buy the ever needed and now treasured, 2008 Big Easy Read Britain, Britain’s clearest mapping guide! We skipped Reading, ended up in the country on extremely small two-lane roads and cheered when we rounded the corner to find Basildon Park, a dream come true for Daughter 1. Basildon Park is Mr. Bingley’s estate, Netherfield, in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice. We strolled through the rooms where the famous five minute ball room scene was filmed – in fact, we went around twice! The National Trust guides we so pleasant and understanding! We walked the grounds where the carriage left the ball and did have a look around the small garden. After a couple hours we were forced to get on the road to head north. With our trusty map in hand the trip was a breeze. Oxford was our next stop. We drove to look at the colleges, but spent over on hour in an antique print shop where Daughter 1 spent Sir’s money! Broke and happy we headed north to a little village called Weekley. Now, you have to remember one thing – Daughter 1 planned this trip. I am just the driver and Sir is just the financer. So needless to say, I was a bit shocked when upon arriving in the village, I asked, “Where is the church and rectory,” and Daughter 1 just replied –“I am not sure, it just said Weekly Village.” Well I do like Pride and Prejudice, but do I like it enough to drive in and out of dead end roads? Well, I love my daughter enough. So, in and out we went. I turned around about three times and by golly, there it was! - the rectory and church where Mr. Collins and Charlotte lived in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice. The rectory is now a private residence – but that did not detour us from taking pictures. I am sure we are not the first do so. On we traveled, heading north to a small village outside of Stamford called Careby. After checking in at our farm house and snapping a few pictures, we headed 2 villages away, just a short 3 turns in 3 miles to a nice pub, The Castle Inn. Sitting by the fire, eating a lovely chicken dish, we sighed a big sigh of contentment. We made it! We were only at the end of our first day!

Reflection on Mother's Day

A belated Happy Mother’s Day to all you! I hope you had a great day. As I am typing this, I look up above my desk and see a picture of my mom and me. So many years have passed since this picture was taken; I was young and carefree. I thought my mom was old at the time, but looking at her now, she was young! I think back, did I tell her I loved her? Did I spend the day with her as she wanted or was it as I wanted? I could write a hundred more "Did I" questions. But the most pressing question on my mind is - how did she cope when there were no more kids at home, waiting by the phone for a Happy Mother’s Day call? Change – it is all about change. Change in tradition, change in family, change in expectations. My Mother’s Day this year? Well, it was a change. No breakfast in bed. No kids bursting through the door screaming Happy Mother’s Day. No kids jumping on the bed spilling my breakfast. Yes, it was a change, but the nice conversation over a delicious brunch and going to see the Broadway show, Wicked, proved to be a great day. I even received what I asked for – pastry brushes! I look at my daughters and see how fast they are growing and how quickly I will be the one waiting by the phone for that Mother’s Day call. Like my mother, grandmother and great-grandmother before, I will cope with the change. So for now, I keep taking pictures – just a snapshot in time to remember special times I have with my girls.

Keep a close watch on A Woman On The Move - I am on the move again. I will be heading to England with Daughter 1. I hope to post updates daily.

Maui Reflections

I have decided – I am never going back to Maui. I know, I know, it is a beautiful island with its diverse landscape, breathtaking blue waters and ideal warm temperatures. But you must hear my story! In 1987, Sir asked me to marry him on Waikiki Beach, Oahu! It was such a romantic evening. Then we headed to Maui to continue our trip and spent 2 days in the middle of a typhoon, so we never really got to see Maui! In 1995, I was 4 months pregnant and was heading to Maui with Sir and Daughter 1. I managed to fall in the Dallas airport shattering my elbow, dislocating my elbow and wrist, and causing damage to my shoulder. Instead of a retreat in Maui, I had surgery and physical therapy for 4 months! Now, in 2008, I went sailing, whale watching, body surfing and even biking 27 miles down a volcano. I was having such good luck on Maui! Then it happened. Our last day in Maui, on the road to Hana, at mile marker 11, happily bouncing across a landscape of rocks, smiling and talking, telling Daughter 1 to go faster, I took a nose dive. I fell so quickly and hit so hard, I didn’t know what had happened. I hit my right eyebrow, bounced off the rock, and hit another rock on my cheek bone. My friend pulled me up by my camera bag, turned me over and declared me a disaster – but she was very sweet. Thanks to everyone involved I applied ice on my eye quickly, rested and hiked back to the car to head to the hospital. I still dream about the fall, going through the motions and trying to figure out how it happened. But most of all, I mourn the lost pictures on the Hana Highway.